The Cold War hovered over Americans like a black cloud for more than 40 years. But with the defeat of Communism in 1991, documents have been released indicating that the United States might have avoided it. Vladislav Zubok and Constantine Plashakov reveal that high-level Soviet diplomats advised Stalin to abandon global confrontation for a partnership with the United States and Britain to prevent Germany's resuscitation and to help in the Soviet Union's reconstruction. Though FDR's death and Winston Churchill's electoral defeat complicated the plan, it was the Hiroshima bombing under Truman that severed relations. Though later Soviet attempts to reconcile were thwarted by Khruschev's hope for a Russian revolution, the authors remind us that Russia's course does not depend on Russia alone.